Vincent Malo

In 1662 the Flemish biographer Cornelis de Bie called him the "Great master Vincent Malò" and praised him for his skill in painting large- and small-scale works, in particular of nudes.

The earliest biographer naming a Vincenzio Malo is Raffaello Soprani in his 1768 publication about artists in Genoa Le vite de' pittori, scultori, ed architetti genovesi.

The registers of the parish of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome record that the painter died there on 14 April 1644 at about 42 years old which suggests a birth date around 1602.

[1] De Bie mentions that Malo was a pupil of the leading Flemish Baroque painter David Teniers the Elder while Soprani states that he studied in addition with Peter Paul Rubens.

[1] The art historian Timon Henricus Fokker suggested in a publication of 1931 that Vincenzo Malo should be identified with the Vincenzo Armanno described in Passeri's book Vite de pittori, scultori ed architetti: che anno lavorato in Roma, morti dal 1641 fino al 1673.

Moreover, some facts recorded about van Swanevelt's life such as his troubles with the Holy Office in Rome and his specialisation as a landscape painter made him the more likely candidate for identification with Vincenzo Armanno.

Today it is assumed that Malo mainly made religious and genre works and Adriaenssen painted battle scenes.

He added figures in the land- and seascapes of Andries van Eertvelt and Gijsbrecht Leytens and also collaborated with Cornelis de Wael during his stay in Genoa.